# boot camp

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/boot-camp
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Any short, often intensive course of training.

## Examples

- She joined a two-week coding boot camp to learn fast.
- Before the new restaurant opened, all the staff went through a boot camp on customer service.
- The aspiring journalists endured a gruelling boot camp of deadlines and edits, emerging with sharper skills and thicker skin.

## Origin

From boot in the US military slang sense of “new recruit” + camp.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.